BP2_2009101_Anti-Teaching

According to Educause (2009) Personalized Learning Environments provide students the opportunity to view, critique, upload, share, and discuss a variety of topics. When it comes to the subject of education, students are able to direct their own learning in a way that is not available to them in traditional learning environments. Because it seems like the schools of today are so entrenched in the traditional style of teaching, including classrooms and courses structured toward the lecture format, it may be difficult for any new methodology to begin to make an impact. That being said, the concept of PLEs offers a possible solution to the problem of disenfranchisement that has plagued many students today and rendered their current learning environments virtually useless.

In an age of grader mongers, something new in the educational world must give students more control and the final responsibility over what and how they learn. PLEs are "created from self-direction" putting the control of information in the learner and not the instructor (Educase, 2009). This could be an effective way of improving education, but major consideration must be given to the role of the teacher. With many traditional schools and teachers who have become comfortable, or maybe lazy, in the use of traditional teaching methods, the idea of such control being in the hands of the learner can be frightening.

To make the PLE an effective system that does not scare away traditionalists or completely remove the role of the teacher, it must include some kind of organizational set-up that involves guidance. This could include, for example, the importance of credibility and reliability in documents, how to research, how to set goals for learning, and so forth. This could be the answer to some of the pitfalls in PLEs and well as a way to assuage the fears of instructors, administrators, and school districts that may not otherwise consider the concept of converting to PLEs for instruction.

Since all of the information used in and added to a PLE is internet based, this also gives offers the possibility of a gatekeeper of sorts. For example, as a principal would come to visit a teacher's classroom to observe their performance and the students progress, principals, administrators, and even parents, can go online to observe students' PLEs to observe the learning process. Students and instructors could even use the blog posts within the PLE to communicate directly with parents and school officials (Solomon & Schrum, 2007).

For a PLE based educational system to work effectively some things are essential. First, in the case of any particular school or school district, it would be impossible to set-up an environment that features PLEs without computers accessible to each student and powerful Internet connections. That then leads to a discussion of whether PLEs are to be part of the school day or after school learning. School classrooms are currently physically structured with the teacher at the head of the class in, again, a lecture style arrangement (Wesch, 2008). Therefore, secondly, if PLEs are meant to replace current forms of daily instruction, then the physical structure of school buildings will have to change to reflect, arguably, a more personalized environment.

Finally, administrators, teachers, researchers must begin to look deeply into the best Web 2.0 tools, the most effective assignments, the specific impact on PLEs on learning, the impact on PLEs in skills-based learning and lesson objectives, and the usefulness and characteristics of possible PLEs in relation to different curricula, subjects, and content areas. Without in-depth research and consideration into these areas, there is no way to know for sure that PLEs would be any better than the current educational system. Regardless, it is important to begin to look into these issues now instead of waiting and leaving behind countless students with the current system.

Educase Learning Initiative. (2009). 7 things you should know about personal learning environments. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/Resources/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutPerso/171521

Solomon, G. & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: new tools, new schools. Oregon: ISTE.

Wesch, M. (2008). Anti-teaching: Confronting the crisis of significance. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/6358393/AntiTeaching-Confronting-the-Crisis-of-Significance